


Love Story

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe, Children, Drama, F/M, Family, First Time, Friendship, Post Bartlett Administration, Romance, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-12
Updated: 2008-12-12
Packaged: 2019-05-30 12:43:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15096974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: Abbey and Noah have a Shakespearean love story for their daughter.





	Love Story

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

  
Author's notes: Deals with consensual teenage sex. Not descriptive, but look away if you will be offended.  


* * *

"But Daddy's not home," the five year old with curly reddish brown hair protests meekly.

"Honey, Daddy might not get home til late. He's at school studying for a big test. Now it's bed time and we need to turn out the light." Abbey pulls the quilt her mother and mother-in-law made for the little girl up and over her nightgown. 

"But he always reads me a story," Jordan points out with a pout.

"I just read you a story," Abbey counters.

"I want another one, please," Jordan asks in her sweetest voice that seems to work better on her father than mother.

"We've read every book in the house, sweetie. We're gonna need to go to the library and get some more soon." Abbey smoothes down Jordan's soft curls.

"Can you make up a story? Papa does it all the time!" Jordan's eyes light up at the mention of Danny, one of her six favourite people in the whole world. 

Abbey's eyebrows rise as she considers this. "I'm not much of a writer, but I guess I could try. What kind of story do you want to hear?"

"Ooooh, a love story like a fairy tale. I like Cinderella!" Jordan looks toward her bookshelf where all the classic storybooks are resting. 

"A love story, huh? How about a story like Romeo and Juliet?" Abbey curls into the small bed next to her daughter and cuddles her close.

"Who were they?" Jordan inquires curiously.

"They were these crazy teenagers who fell in love but their parents were super strict and didn't want them to be together." Abbey has to think back to her eleventh grade English class. You simply don’t encounter Shakespeare in law school.

"What happened to them?" Jordan wants to know.

Abbey stutters before deciding to amend the ending of the classic play . "They, uh, got married and had a beautiful little girl and lived happily ever after."

"Really?" Jordan smiles in satisfaction. She likes the happy endings best. 

"That's not the whole story. Darling, I think you need to brush up on your old English literature. You're brain is too full of tort law." Noah appears in the doorjamb with his messenger bag hanging off his shoulder and his polo shirt significantly wrinkled after a long day. 

"Daddy!" Jordan squeals excitedly, shooting up out of bed and propelling herself toward the door as fast as she can.

Noah catches his daughter mid jump and proceeds to smother her in kisses before placing her on the bed and tickling her under arms.

Abbey rolls her eyes. " Great, that'll calm her down before bed. And I think you were using a different translation of Romeo and Juliet than I was. I seem to recall it was a blissfully wonderful ending."

"Oh? That's possible." Noah sits besides his two favourite girls and greets his wife with a quick peck on the lips. "But I think you're leaving out all the really difficult stuff in the middle of the story."

"What happened, Daddy?" Jordan inquires, curling into her father's lap.

Noah shakes his head dramatically. " Oh, sweetie, I can't remember all the details. I would have failed Shakespeare if it weren't for your mom. Honey, why don't you tell the story?" Noah shares a knowing glance with Abbey and understands exactly where the story is going.

With a deep breath, Abbey stares out the window and catches the back patio lights coming from her parents house. She and Noah had moved into the guest house a couple years ago after Danny, Josh, Noah and professionals built it so their growing family could have more space. She and Noah had, with their parents help, made it through undergrad and got accepted to law school whilst also raising their young daughter. Now they are both handling a standard case load at law school while Jordan enjoys kindergarten. But it doesn't take long for her mind to flashback six years. "Well, Romeo and Juliet met when they were just kids but fell in love really quickly."

* * *  
Flashback to January 2025…..

We were both young when I first saw you.  
I close my eyes and the flashback starts:  
I'm standing there on a balcony in summer air.

 

"Dad, we'll be fine by ourselves for one weekend. I'm perfectly capable of this. I'll be seventeen in three weeks, ya know." Abbey balances her trigonometry book in her lap along with a bowl of popcorn as she sits back on the couch in the den. 

"I'm just not sure, Abbey. You and Pat have never stayed alone in the house by yourselves over night. It's a lot of responsibility." Danny fiddles with his beard, debating whether or not his teenagers could manage the house when he and CJ head to San Francisco for a Hollis Foundation conference. 

Abbey rolls her eyes dramatically. " Dad, I have first aid training and all the emergency numbers on the fridge. We'll be fine by ourselves. What could possibly go wrong?"

Danny doesn’t want to consider that. "Maybe we could just ask Aunt Megan to come keep you guys company. I know she wouldn't mind."

"No! Last time she babysat us I had to watch the Sound of Music eight times!"Pat looks up long enough from his handheld video game to protest. 

CJ purses her lips. "Danny, I think it would be a good chance for the kids to show us how responsible and mature they are. After all, Abbey will be going to college in September and taking care of herself and this a good chance for her to see how she can manage without us."

"Yeah, yeah! After all you won't be there to look after me and I'll be staying by myself every night." Abbey articulates her argument with a smile.

"Yeah, but you'll have a roommate…" Danny counters.

"Danny, I think the kids will be fine," CJ places herself on the kids' side, confident that their children are mature enough to handle staying alone for a weekend.

Danny sighs deeply, realizing he's outnumbered three to one. " All right, fine."

Abbey and Patrick simultaneously scream, "Yes!"

Danny stares seriously at his children on the couch. "You can stay here by yourselves, but there will be some conditions. First off, there will be no parties. You can hang out with the kids on the block but no one else is to be invited in here. You'll lock the doors and be inside by eleven o'clock. Abbey, you still can't have Noah upstairs with you. If anything gets broken, you can count on replacing it with your allowance money. Abbey, there will be no driving while we're away. Pat, you have to listen to your sister. Abbey, you have to look out for your brother at all times, including accounting for his whereabouts. We will be in constant contact with you every day to check up. Does this sound good, dear?" Danny turns towards his wife.

CJ nods soundly. " That's great. I have the greatest confidence in the both of you. And we can leave pizza money and a fridge full of groceries so you won't need to go to the store. "

Abbey jumps off the couch and hugs both of her parents. " Thank you so much! We'll do a good job looking after the house and each other. I may even be so responsible that I'll want to clean the bathrooms."

Danny chuckles lightly and wraps an arm around his sixteen year- old. "All right. Just don't screw this up, okay?"

 

 

See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns.  
See you make your way through the crowd  
and say hello;

Little did I know  
That you were Romeo; you were throwing pebbles,  
And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet."  
And I was crying on the staircase,  
begging you, 'Please, don't go.'"

And I said,  
"Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone.  
I'll be waiting; all there's left to do is run.  
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess  
It's a love story - baby just say 'Yes.'"

 

 

"It's almost eleven. I guess I should be walking you home." Noah shifts under Abbey's weight on top of him and turns off the music videos on the television in his room.

"But I like it here. I never get to hang out with you in your room." Abbey snuggles closer to Noah's chest, revelling in the opportunity to be close to him without their parents looking over their shoulders.

"That's 'cause our parents won't allow it," Noah adds unnecessarily, not thrilled of the idea of letting Abbey go yet.

"But they're not here now. They're all in San Francisco. And Pat, Davy and Ella are all watching movies at my house." Abbey slips one hand under Noah's sweater and begins to draw circular patterns across his warm skin.

With a sharp inhale, Noah takes Abbey's right hand and returns it to its previous place on top of his clothing. " They'll be wondering where we are. I should get you home."

"They're not going to be looking for us for another hour. I told them I'd extend curfew if they didn't tell the 'rents." Abbey grins devilishly.

"You're very bad," Noah smiles with a light laugh.

"So what do you think we should do for the next hour?" Abbey wonders suggestively.

"Well, we could throw in a movie or bring out the Nintendo. I could kick your butt at…" Noah trails off when Abbey shakes her head emphatically.

"No. You're not thinking in my direction. We have a whole hour and we're completely alone…" Abbey smiles and cups Noah's cheek in one hand.

"Ahhh, I see. That is much better than I was thinking." Having gotten the hint, Noah brings his lips to Abbey's and commences a slow, sweet kiss. He can't think of a time in the last three and half years that he and Abbey were dating when they were kissing in his bed. It's going to make it very hard to get to sleep tonight.

After a few minutes, Abbey quickens the pace of the kiss and increases its intensity, letting her hands wander from Noah's shoulders down south across his body. Within a few seconds, Abbey has Noah's shirt over his head and throws it to the ground. She temporarily sits up to remove her own sweater and camisole before lying back down beside Noah and resuming their kiss. Noah's hands travel over her shoulders and hesitantly hovers over her breasts contained by a white lace bra. Abbey eagerly nods her consent and closes her eyes in anticipation as Noah ever so gently runs his fingers over the lace.

"God, you're so beautiful. Is this okay?" Noah kisses her chin and neck and stares intently at the work of his hands. 

"It's definitely okay," Abbey assures him with a sigh of content. Her own hand wanders down Noah's bare chest and rests over the fly on his jeans.

 

Noah rapidly realizes that he needs to break off their make-out session because there is no way he'll be able to tolerate the tension in his groin for a whole hour. "Ok…Ok. We…we…we need to…stop. I'm sorry…I…I can't do this any more."

Abbey continues to pepper feathery kisses on Noah's closed lips. " We don't have to stop this time." Her heart is beating so fast it's creating an intense pounding in her ears. Is she really going to give the green light?

Noah sits up slowly, a look of uncertainty crosses his eyes. "Abbey, we don't have to…Not just because we're alone. I mean, we…we don't have to." He knows that he has to provide ample opportunity for his girlfriend to back out. He doesn't want to, but he'd rather they stop now so he can compose himself instead of continuing their making out but having to halt their ministrations just as it is getting really good.

"But I want to," Abbey admits, a look of sincere longing in her eyes as she stares passionately into her boyfriend's gaze. 

"Are you sure?" Noah's voice turns hoarse at the implications of what Abbey is telling him. His heart races wildly with nerves at the thought of what they were about to do. He doesn't want to screw this up. They've never gotten this far and he doesn't want to hurt her in any way.

"Yeah. Aren't you? I mean, we've been together for like forever and we know we love each other. Right?" Abbey's stomach is fluttering with butterflies, but she knows she isn't nervous because of uncertainty. She knows how deeply Noah loves her and how he will stay with her forever. She trusts him implicitly and knows they've waited long enough. 

Taking a sharp breath, Noah nods soundly. " Definitely. I love you more than anything in the world."

"Ok. Then the only question left is do you have protection?" Abbey had been told by her mother that when and only when she was ready to have sex for the first time, she should make sure they're protected. If she wasn't willing to talk about contraception, then she wasn't ready and mature enough to be having sex. While she and Noah don't have to worry about diseases and infections, they certainly don't want to get pregnant. 

Noah nods, remembering he had stored the condoms he got in health class in the bottom drawer of his dresser. His father had made it clear that when he has sex, it's his responsibility to protect his girlfriend. He stumbles across the room and digs out the wrapped condom. His hands fumble with the packaging, his hands shaking with nerves. He thinks he's making an absolute fool of himself in front of Abbey.

"Take it easy," Abbey encourages softly, laying her own hand over his. " We'll get through this."

Noah nods and needs to kiss Abbey again to find the courage he needs. "You know that we can stop if you get too uncomfortable. I mean, it'll be hard, but I can stop. I don't want to hurt you. You…you have to tell me if I'm hurting you."

"I'll be fine," Abbey coos, caressing Noah's cheek. 

"You sure you're ready?" Noah's breath stops as he asks one more time.

From her lips comes an unequivocal 'yes'.

 

\- * *

So I sneak out to the garden to see you.  
We keep quiet 'cause we're dead if they knew.  
So close your eyes; escape this town for a little while.  
'Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter,  
And my daddy said "Stay away from Juliet,"  
But you were everything to me; I was begging you, 'Please, don't go,'"

And I said,  
"Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone.  
I'll be waiting; all there's left to do is run.  
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess  
It's a love story - baby just say 'Yes.'

Romeo save me - they're tryin' to tell me how to feel;  
This love is difficult, but it's real.  
Don't be afraid; we'll make it out of this mess.  
It's a love story - baby just say "Yes.'"

 

Abbey lies alone in bed, contemplating life for the next month without Noah. After she admitted to her parents that she and Noah had disobeyed them and broke their trust by having sex while they were out of town, they had doled out a hardy punishment and forbade her from seeing Noah for at least a month. Even once she reached parole, she and Noah would be watched even more carefully by their two sets of parents. She knows her mother understands why she did what she did, but she doesn't think any of the parents realize just how much she loves Noah and he loves her back. The two couples had both gotten together relatively late in their lives and couldn't remember what it was like to be young and in love. At least, that is what Abbey assumes. She just can't wait until they're both in school and living away from home. Then they'll be able to let their relationship flourish without scrutiny. She wants so badly to sneak out of her room and talk to Noah again.

 

\- * *

Oh.

I got tired of waiting,  
Wondering if you were ever comin' around.  
My faith in you was fading  
When I met you on the outskirts of town

 

"I guess we need to find out for sure. Can you go in the store and get the test? I'm just so embarrassed." Abbey's hands are trembling uncontrollably.

Noah steadies her hands in his own and nods, knowing that it will be no less embarrassing for him to buy the pregnancy test. But, he concedes, it's his responsibility and burden to bear. If Abbey is pregnant, he is equally to blame. He just can't imagine what it be like to tell their parents. He imagines the outcome will involve some Romeo and Juliet-style suicide ordeal. It's not fair. All his friends have sex and never have these consequences. More than anything, he just feels like he's disappointed everyone, especially their families and Abbey. "All right. I'll go. You know that no matter what happens, no matter what our parents say, I'll always love you."

Abbey manages a small smile. "I'll never stop loving you, either."

 

\- * *

 

And I said,  
"Romeo save me - I've been feeling so alone.  
I keep waiting for you but you never come.  
Is this in my head? I don't know what to think-"

He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said,   
"Marry me, Juliet - you'll never have to be alone.  
I love you and that's all I really know.  
I talked to your dad - go pick out a white dress;  
It's a love story - baby just say 'Yes.'"

 

After the initial shock, anger and disappointment of the revelation that Abbey was pregnant, their parents eventually came around to the conclusion that they had to support their children and help them deal with the outcomes of the new changes to come. Abbey isn't clear about what will happen next. She knows they'll raise their baby together and go to school in California, but she isn't sure about where they will live . Abbey fiddles with the padlock on her locker.

"Is your mom picking you up for the OB-GYN appointment?" Noah inquires as they reach the end of the hallway and approach Abbey's  
locker.

"Shssh!" Abbey hisses. They decided they would wait until Monday to start telling their friends. CJ had called the doctor yesterday and today, Friday, Abbey has an appointment after school. "Yes, she's probably waiting for me now."

"You sure you don't want me to come?" Noah asks as Abbey turns her lock to the combination and opens her locker.

"No. There's no point in you coming to this one." Abbey peers into her locker at the stuffed monkey sitting neatly in the centre with the words "Unconditional Love" etched across the monkey's chubby tummy. Abbey notices a pink ribbon hanging from the toys neck and a ring dangling from the ribbon. Her jaw drops in surprise and delight and she looks to Noah for an explanation.

Noah is grinning insanely. "I made the monkey last night at `Build-A-Bear' and had it engraved. I was saving to buy you a promise ring to give you before we went away in September, but I took the money and my dad and I went out last night to buy this engagement ring. I know this isn't the dream proposal you probably always expected and I know it's not done under ideal circumstances. We don't have any money and we're really young. I don't know entirely how we're gonna make this work, but I know I will try as much as humanly possible to be the husband you really deserve and the best father this baby could hope for. I will work for the rest of my life to try to  
make you even a fraction of how happy you make me. I'll never give up on us and I will be here for you forever. So, will you marry me?"

Thanking God her locker isn't in a high-traffic hallway where everyone would over-hear them, Abbey throws her arms around Noah's neck and squeezes hard. "Oh, Noah. Yes, yes of course!" She attacks her boyfriend with wet, sloppy kisses over his neck and face before their lips finally meet in a passionate kiss.

Breaking off after a minute, Abbey grins insanely and releases the ring from the ribbon on the monkey's neck to hand to Noah. "Here, put it on."

With a contented smile, Noah sends a silent prayer of thanks for her answer and slides the ring onto her left ring finger. Abbey examines it with an excited expression.

"Oh my God, it's beautiful. Noah, how much did you have saved?" Abbey doesn't know anything about diamonds, but she knows it couldn't have been cheap.

"Don't worry about it," Noah tells her directly to end the conversation. They'll soon have to be considering their joint finances, but there's no reason she needs to know what he paid for her engagement ring and who his benefactor (Josh) was. Noah made it perfectly clear to Josh that he would return the loan when he collected enough money from his pay-checks.

"I…I have to go," Abbey announces disappointingly.

"Okay. Call me when you get back. I wanna know how the appointment goes." Noah hands Abbey the stuffed toy. "And this monkey isn't actually for you. This is my first present for our baby. My first act of fatherhood- proposing to you and buying my baby's first toy."

Abbey laughs lightly. "All right, but your first act of fatherhood actually occurred about six weeks ago. But semantics…"

Laughing in return, Noah leans in to claim another kiss. " Whatever. Good luck and I love you…Both of you."

Nodding, Abbey adjusts her backpack and takes off down the hallway towards the school lobby. Maybe this story won't have such a bad ending after all.

 

\- * *  
Flash forward to 2031…….

 

"And then Romeo and Juliet got married and had the most beautiful little girl in the entire world. Even though they didn't plan it, God gave them a huge unplanned blessing in their daughter. And ever since, they've been madly in love and had the greatest family. Their daughter is the most special thing to them ever." Abbey sums up the story with a dramatic conclusion. The entire time she had been giving her daughter the child-friendly version of the story, she had been sharing looking with Noah that let her know he wholeheartedly concurred with her description of the love affair and was glad that the two kids had worked everything out so well. 

"Wow!" Jordan gushes with a huge smile. " That's a great love story. Were Juliet and Romeo real people?"

"Why yes, baby. They were actually me and Mommy," Noah reveals after a heated glance with his wife.

Jordan giggles in disbelief. " Really?"

"Yep. And we're still incredibly in love," Abbey confirms, leaning forward to capture Noah's lips in her own. 

"Ewwww….No kissing." Jordan scrunches up her nose in disgust at seeing her parents kiss.

With a soft chuckle, Noah raises his index finger. "Hey, now. You didn’t say 'ew' during the story. Just remember that it's okay if adults who really like each other to kiss. Now, you, honey, on the other hand, are never allowed to kiss boys. I'll see to it that any gentlemen callers are scared away. "

"Just like Juliet's daddy!" Jordan exclaims.

Noah's face falls and Abbey can't help but laugh at that. In so many ways, Noah is a lot like Danny. "Yeah. It wouldn't be bad to be like Juliet's father. But I still don't want you kissing boys till you're like thirty or forty. You've gotta graduate professional school first." Noah bends down to kiss Jordan's temple.

"So if Romeo and Juliet were really you, what story is Grandma and Grandpa's and Nana and Papa's?" Jordan wonders allowed.

"Measure for Measure? Or maybe King Lear? What's the tragedy with all the sex?" Noah turns to Abbey with a jesting grin. 

Abbey playfully swats her husband for talking like that in front of their daughter. "Stop it!"

"Can you tell me those stories?" Jordan asks excitedly.

 

"No!" Abbey states deliberately.

"That's a story for a much later time. For now, it's past bedtime. Good night, princess. Sweet dreams." Noah kisses Jordan's crown and pulls the blankets to her chin.

"I hope some day…when I'm thirty or forty, I meet my Romeo." Jordan yawns as Abbey kisses her 'good night'. 

"Me, too sweetie. We should all be so lucky." Abbey's gaze meets Noah's and knows that in a few minutes they'll be reliving the love scenes of their favourite story. 

And they lived happily ever after. The End. Curtain call.


End file.
